The wedding chapel will be rebuilt at another lagoon site. Photo, 1981, by Blair Jackson

The wedding chapel will be rebuilt at another lagoon site. Photo,...

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TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- Amfac Resort map of the Coco Palms from the back side of the guest information brochure, July 1981. King's Cottages are located between the lagoon and the coconut grove, to the left of the reception buiding. Queen's Cottages are to the right

TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- Regan McMahon sits by a King's Cottage on her honeymoon at the Coco Palms in July 1981.
Photo by Blair Jackson

Photo: Blair Jackson

TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- Regan McMahon sits by a King's Cottage...

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TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- A family pole-fishes in the lagoon at the Coco Palms in July 1981. The lagoon is though to have been the fishpond of Kauai's Queen Deborah Kapule in the 1800s. Photo courtesy Regan McMahon

Photo: Courtesy Regan McMahon

TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- A family pole-fishes in the lagoon at...

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TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- Regan McMahon sits by the giant clam shell sink in one of Coco Palms hotel rooms, during her honeymoon in July 1981. Photo by Blair Jackson

Photo: Blair Jackson

TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- Regan McMahon sits by the giant clam...

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TRAVEL SFGATE COCO PALMS -- The buildings of the Coco Palms have been shuttered since Hurricane Iniki hit on Sept. 11, 1992, but the coconut trees still grow.
Anne Schrager / The Chronicle

People from all over the world have questions for Richard Weiser, one of the partners redeveloping the long-shuttered Coco Palms resort on Kauai's east side. They've called him at home in Hawaii, buttonholed him on the street, desperate to know two things: When is it going to open? And is it going to look like the old Coco Palms?

The first, and most-asked, question is an easy one: August 2008. At least that's what the sales office, which opened this week on Kauai, is telling prospective buyers of the 200 luxury condos that will go up around the lagoon near the Wailua River. The majority will be part of a "condotel," with an additional 48 duplex and quadplex hotel bungalows.

The second question is more difficult, Weiser said, calling from Honolulu last week.

"Very little of what's standing there now will remain," he said, explaining that new flood ordinances require higher elevations. But the resort will still be centered around the lagoon and coconut grove, with a new pedestrian bridge connecting it to a rebuilt beach restaurant. Interiors will feature eclectic furnishings and colors that recall the late Grace Guslander's original quirky style of South Pacific-meets-leopard spots, "in a more subliminal way," Weiser said.

"The bungalows will have outdoor showers like the old Coco Palms did, and we're working hard to save the original shell sinks," he said. "We're planning on manufacturing a Plexiglas sink, but if we can use the originals, we will."

Even after the 396-room closed in 1992, couples inspired by "Blue Hawaii" continued to get married in the wedding chapel by the lagoon. But since the chapel is termite ridden and sitting on state land, according to Weiser, it will be rebuilt at another site on the lagoon. "We'll keep it intimate, and we'll still do the same ceremonies with the canoe picking up the bride, and Larry Rivera and his family will do the entertainment in the lounge," he said.

It's not just the look that the new developers want to revive and update. "The Coco Palms had its own kind of feeling -- people wanted to stay at the resort, not just sleep there, and we want to bring back the activities that occurred there, like the torchlighting every evening, and other things that recall Grace Guslander," Weiser said.

Of course, it all comes at a price: with condos in the million-dollar range, hotel rates likely to be in the $350-$500 range. But Weiser thinks the market is there: "The world has discovered our little island."